12 Tips to Create Your Ultimate Homeschool Schedule As A Busy Mom

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Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

More parents are making the decision to homeschool their kids. Do you have the desire to homeschool but feel that you don’t have time for it? Are you a busy working mom that needs a homeschool plan that fits your family’s schedule? I am here for you. I will walk you through the steps of creating a super simple homeschool schedule that is right for you and your family. You can make homeschool easy peasy even with a busy schedule.

To make a working mom homeschool schedule, it is important for you to set time blocks and schedule out time for you to complete your priorities first. Once this is done you will be able to clearly see the best time blocks for you and your family to work on homeschool.

What Is A Good Schedule For Homeschooling?

The best homeschool schedule is one that is customized to fit your needs. Every family is different as well as their circumstances. Homeschooling gives you many options as far as scheduling, so if you typically have very busy days then you can tailor your child’s homeschool schedule around your daily priorities.

Since your child will be getting 1:1 attention homeschool does not usually last all day, unlike traditional school. You can choose to have your child complete one subject at a time or you can even schedule A and B days where you will schedule them to work on certain subjects each day. Either way, you can create a super simple homeschool schedule that will be a perfect fit for you and your family.

How Many Hours A Day Do You Homeschool?

A typical homeschool schedule consists of 3-4 hours of school per day. If you are going to homeschool your child you will first need to throw traditional school standards out of the window. You don’t have to force homeschool to be like a traditional school. 

Do not think that you have to create an 8-hour lesson plan for your child because this would be overwhelming for both of you. The beauty of homeschool is that the choice is yours. You can homeschool however you and your child likes. You can make any opportunity a learning one for your child which is why homeschool doesn’t typically take up a full day.

Can Working Moms Homeschool?

Yes, you absolutely can homeschool your child even as a busy working mom. I have had a very demanding job working from home that has asked me to work nights and weekends meanwhile I was homeschooling my daughter, taking care of my new baby, and starting a business so that I could achieve a better work-life balance and empower other moms to do the same. Phew! I was plenty busy.

I said all of that to say that even the busiest working mom CAN homeschool their kids. You can also homeschool your kid even if you work outside the home. It will just take planning and creating a good schedule that you can stick with. The key is to make homeschooling fun and don’t stress over it.

If you are worried about not having time for a homeschool schedule and need time-saving tips read How to Make Easy Peasy Homeschool Post.

How Do I Create A Daily Schedule For Homeschool?

Decide if you will homeschool your child year-round or follow the traditional schedule with summers and holidays off. You also need to decide how many days your child will do homeschool. The more days you homeschool the shorter those days will be. Download the Easy Peasy Homeschool Planner template and draft out your daily homeschool schedule.

12 Tips For Busy Working Moms to Create A Homeschool Schedule

  1. Create a daily routine that you are comfortable with. Don’t think of it as a hard and fast schedule that you absolutely have to follow because things may come up occasionally. Think of it as a more fluid routine that allows your day to flow in a more organized way.
  2. Set time blocks for your routine. There is a time for learning and a time for everything else. Write a time block for school work and a time block for independent play which will free up your time so that you can get things done. Add more content to this section.
  3. Build-in extra time into your routine. Like I said things will come up that may prevent you from sticking to a schedule so build in some extra time into your schedule to account for the days that one-time block runs over into the next.
  4. Consider the Sibling. If your child has a sibling they may be in different stages in life. Consider their individual routines and find a way to make them coincide with one another. Perhaps you can schedule your older child to complete school work that requires your attention and assistance while the little one is taking a nap. Or if both siblings are school-age perhaps they can both can adopt the same school routine. Add more content to this section if possible.
  5. Decide how you want your child to complete school work. You don’t have to work on each subject every day because that would take way too long and both of you may become burnt out. Like I mentioned earlier, you could either have your child complete one subject at a time meaning once your child completes English for the year they will begin to work on another subject. Your child will complete each subject quicker this way but remember if your child does not practice what they are learning regularly then they may forget so if you choose this route be sure to still implement lessons from the subjects that they completed on occasions to keep them sharp. You could also schedule alternating A and B days where your child would work on set subjects on A days and the other subjects on B days.
  6. Schedule your priorities. I know I said think of it more as a routine than a hard and fast schedule, however, if you have hard and fast priorities that need to get done then be sure to schedule them in and have everything else flow around it. If you work outside the home then your work schedule will be a non-negotiable priority. When you get home, take 30 minutes to unwind, and then you can start homeschool. You could even have your child read aloud while you prepare dinner. If you have a morning worship routine you can schedule to do that first thing. At my house, we have a morning worship routine that we do around breakfast time. We read a scripture from the daily text, sing songs, and learn about a different bible character. I group it together with breakfast so we can start our day with positivity and to multi-task of course. After that, I check in with my work and I start homeschooling my daughter.
  7. Don’t force a routine. Make sure that it is a natural fit. You should still be able to wake up when you wake up and go to bed at your normal time. If you are not an early riser or a night owl then don’t try to be. Start your daily routine at a time that makes sense for you.
  8. Put your plan in writing. Sometimes it is easier to see where things fit in your day by writing it out. First, write out all of your non-negotiable priorities, and then you will be able to see where you have time to fit in homeschooling. Remember a typical homeschool schedule is 3-4 hours or less and it definitely does not have to be in one sitting. You can break up this time to make your routine more reasonable.
  9. Schedule days off. Just like your child does not need to do every subject every day. Your child also does not have to work on homeschool every day unless you both want to. This is a big relief for busy working moms that work outside of the home. As long as your child is learning and gets work done then it doesn’t matter how many days they are homeschooled. You will need days where you all can just take it easy and not think about school. Even then your child will still learn something in those days because learning is everywhere.
  10. Take into consideration how your child learns best. Is your child a hands-on learner or a visual learner? Think about how your child learns best and schedule lesson plans based on this. It will make it so much easier for both of you.
  11. Think about the activities that require more of your time. Field trips, writing assignments, book reports, or any assignment that your child needs your help with will require more of your time. Keep this in mind when creating your homeschool routine. Make sure to schedule this at a time that you are free.
  12. Think about your child’s learning goals. What goals do you have set for your child? Are they learning how to read or sharpening their math or writing skills? You can create a homeschool routine that covers the necessary subject and is focused on your child’s goals

Download this Working Mom Homeschool schedule to create your own Routine

How Do I Organize My Homeschool Schedule?

free homeschool schedule for busy working moms

An organized schedule starts with a plan. Plan out the curriculum with your child’s goals in mind. Once the curriculum is planned out and you have the lesson plans for each subject then you can easily find a place for them within your homeschool schedule. Utilize a filing system so that you can keep up with homeschool records. Organize homeschool supplies by the subject and lessons so that when it is time for school all of the necessary materials are easy to access.

Morning Time Block

Our morning time block consists of our morning routine before school starts. We start off our day by reading a scripture from the daily text and prayer. Then we start breakfast and I read to the kids from a scripture book that I made for each of them. I laminated a book of scriptures that they can easily memorize along with bible character cards. I introduce a new bible character every 3 days. After breakfast we watch videos of bible songs for kids. After that we do our morning chores and get ready for the day.

School Time Block

I start the school day off by having Kennedy (1st grade) read a few books to her little brother Harrison (preschool). When Kennedy was in Pre-K and Kindergarten I homeschooled her using a morning binder that I put together that contained a complete curriculum.

Now that Harrison is nearing this stage I will soon begin using it again for him. Kennedy is now in 1st grade and I transitioned her to online school. After book reading time, I set Kennedy up on the computer so she can complete her school work online. While Kennedy is completing her school work I get Harrison to occupy his time with his educational toys until he takes his morning nap, this frees up my time so that I can start work.

Lunch Time

After we eat lunch, I log into the parent portal app for Acellus Academy and I check my daughter’s progress. Then we read a few short books together with Harrison.

Afternoon Time Block

After lunch I let Kennedy have her free playtime. If the weather is good then she and Harrison can go outside and play. If not then she normally likes to go and watch a movie in her room and Harrison is ready for his afternoon nap. After Kennedy is finished with her movie she normally takes a nap unless she is trying to fight it. We still have plenty of those days when she protests her nap. I usually take advantage of their nap time to do a quick straighten up of the house and its back to work for me.

Evening Time Block

Once they wake up from their nap we do another quick reading session where we read one small book to Harrison and then I allow them to have free time to play together while I prepare dinner. Kennedy and Harrison love to play restaurant or doctor together. Before dinner is finished I have Kennedy to declutter the living room and straighten up her bedroom. Those are the main places that she and her brother play in. By the time Kennedy is finished with her evening chores, I can hear my husband coming into the house through the garage. We then eat dinner and the kids start their bedtime routine.

This is a typical day in my house but make sure that you create a schedule that works for your own family’s routine. Notice that my kids complete their homeschool routine after breakfast and before lunch. That is only 2 definitely no more than 3 hours. This goes to show that you don’t need to have a lot of time to homeschool. Kids will still get a full and complete education in just 2-3 hours a day.

My daughter is 4 by the way. She is 4 years old and in the 1st grade and taking classes at a fully accredited Science-based academy. I said that to say that even though we only homeschool for 2 hours a day, she has demonstrated that she is learning and benefitting from her homeschool routine. If you work outside the home all you need is just 2-3 hours of time and it does not have to be consecutive. You can break up your kid’s homeschool time before and after dinner or even before and after you go to work. Do whatever works for you.

Download Easy Peasy Homeschool schedule to create your own

Conclusion

If you are a busy working mom and are contemplating homeschool, I hope you are feeling more confident about your decision after reading this. As a busy homeschool mom, I can tell you from experience that you CAN homeschool your child and it is very rewarding. Don’t get too hung up on creating a homeschool schedule. There is no one right way to do it. Just know that all you need is just a couple of hours each day and you can schedule that time anywhere you can find it. Feel free to send me an email and I will and I will help you to create a homeschool schedule that will work for you. If you still feel like you are short on time and need some time-saving tips read: How to Make Homeschool Easy Peasy.

Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

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